The Frozen Land
by Stewaycol
Summary: Four youngsters in the northern reaches of Forgotten Realms wind up working together to protect their small community.  UPDATE: 3/12 - Grobrunk runs into an unknown creature in the woods while Tobias, Eli, and Cara end up at Rhonin's together.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Introductions

Tobias Vulcos placed one hand on the railing of Helios' only blacksmith after a day of work and pulled himself up into the air. Effortlessly, he flipped over the railing, landing well pass the meager three stairs that one would have had to walk down normally, and landed expertly on his feet. This is Tobias' way, why would he walk down the three stairs when he could have more fun taking a less expected route.

After he landed, he ran a hand across his forehead, wiping his sandy blonde hair out of his blue eyes. He quickly patted at his trouser's pocket, eyes widening in shock when the boy realized that one of his most prized positions was missing. Tobias dropped to his knees, searching the ground around the shop, and was relieved when he saw pearls reflecting the sunlight. The necklace went back into his pocket, his fingers gently rubbing it. He glanced up and down the street, looking for any who may have seen his acrobatic display, followed by his embarrassing search, both relieved and disappointed when he saw no one watching. That was not too surprising, with the size of Helios' it wasn't common to have a street full of passerby's. He sighed, shrugged, and started walking in the direction of his house, looking for someone to talk to.

The shop that Tobias had just left was ran by his grandfather, Argus Vulcos, the man who primarily raised Tobias since he was just a boy. Argus was elderly, but still insisted he was in well enough shape to run the forge. The railing was installed last year to ease Argus' ascent and descent, and the man occasionally winced on his way in, but no one could deny that his talent hadn't left him yet. Working together, as family, they had finished all of the jobs that the residents of their backwater little town of Helios had. They had repaired some horseshoes for the Mules', built a couple of knickknacks that old lady Henderson had been pestering them about and finished up crafting a few fresh swords for Rhonin, the dwarf in charge of town security, to use during guard duty. Tobias left the blacksmith, happy to be out early and desperately hoping that no new requests came in tonight, so that he wouldn't have any need to go to work tomorrow. He loved helping his grandfather, but he loved being able to sleep in even more. Waking up early was not one of Tobias' favorite things.

The walk to Tobias' home was a short one; it would take most people no more than five minutes. For Tobias, it took him more than triple that. Every step he found himself stopping to strike up a conversation with the locals who headed out of the storefronts to talk to Tobias. The potter even let an earthenware jug spin unattended on her wheel to come and speak with the young man. Tobias loved small talk. He talked about the weather, business at the shop, the health of various villagers' family members, and the latest pillowcase he finished sewing; he left out the fact that the case was very lopsided. He did not inherit his mother's sewing abilities. By the time the young man had made it inside, Argus was already tending to the fire in their cozy little home, despite the fact that Argus was cleaning up the shop still when Toby left. Argus knew his grandson and his ways, and always let Tobias leave work before everything was completed, so that they would get back at roughly the same time.

"Go wash up for supper, boy." Argus said as he threw another log on the fire, stirring the coals and embers into a sturdy blaze. Tobias' response was a grin and quick thumbs up before he ran into the other room, leaving his grandfather smiling and deep in thought. He knew it would be best for Tobias to be raised by his parents, and of course Argus missed his son and daughter-in-law, but given the circumstances, Argus believed he did a pretty good job. As lucky as Tobias was to have his grandfather in his life, Argus knew that he was even luckier to have Tobias in his.

Grobrunk Krognak's impressive muscles strained as he pulled the deer carcass the last couple of yards he needed to until he arrived at his butcher shop. He grunted a low guttural noise that told his parents that he was home, and threw the animal's body up on the table. He was quite proud with himself for getting this deer, and he found himself admiring the stag's size and strength, not to mention its impressive rack. It was a great hunt and with the amount of meat on it, he would have a plentiful amount to sell to the residents of the town. It symbolized everything Grobrunk wanted in his life; a challenging day followed by some good old fashioned hard work.

Grobrunk had dark hair and even darker eyes. Most of the town knew him to be kind to children and slow to anger. Only during battle and hunting did his eyes sparkle with excitement. Grobrunk was only twenty-two years of age, but as a half-orc, he aged much faster than other races and was well into his maturity. He was tall and muscular, just the way his race was meant to be. He did his family proud.

Grobrunk lived with his parents on the outskirts of Helios in a small cabin still nestled in the boughs of the pine forest. He didn't necessarily feel at home with the rest of the townsfolk. Everyone was always very kind to his family, but he always felt as though the mostly human community was excluding his kin. But his parents insisted that they were valued members of the town, or at least were before their age forced them to spend most days inside, leaving Grobrunk to hunt and manage their shop. He didn't mind, it was his duty and his honor to be of help.

As Grobrunk was skinning his newest quarry, he noticed that his father was standing in the doorway. Without a word, Grobrunk knew what he wanted. "Yes, delivery to Rhonin. I know." He grunted without stopping his work. His father nodded and left Grobrunk alone to work on the stag. As the elder Krogruk Krognak departed, he smiled in obvious satisfaction, believing that he has raised a good strong lad.

Rhonin Silverhammer was the only dwarf who lived in Helios. He came roughly a decade ago, claiming that he wanted to help fortify the town from the harsh winters. Soon after he joined the militia, he rose through the ranks until his seasoned advice led him to be Captain of the Guard. He put an end to the surprising high number of dangers that living in this area brought. Since Rhonin arrived, attacks had decreased and fatalities were very few and far between. To combat the boredom that settled over the dwarf once patrols were not needed daily, Rhonin had opened up a tavern for the town, after all, what was a dwarf without a place to drink and carouse?

Rhonin also had a small altar set up to worship Mordain, the Stonefather. It was the only form of public worship that existed in Helios; most people just said their devotions in the privacy of their own home. Grobrunk was due to bring the tavern's weekly delivery of meat today.

His thoughts drifted away as he grabbed his meat cleaver and started going through his trained motions to get the most meat from the stag. Grobrunk smiled. Life on the frontier was good to him.

Eli Stoneroot twisted his body, straining against his father and his brothers grasp. The four men's angry faces leered down at the boy, terrifying him.

"Did you think we wouldn't find out? Did you think you could run around behind our back to practice that deviltry?" His father yelled, spit flying. Pa Stoneroot had dirt brown hair coupled with beady little eyes. The middle aged man was rounded in the middle, evident by the empty ale flagons around and starting to bald, but he was far more muscular than Eli. This, added on with the fact that Eli also had three older brothers, who all inherited their fathers looks, caused his straining to be in vain. He couldn't get out of their grip.

Eli came from a family of farmers. They were, for the most part, what one would expect a family of farmers to be: illiterate, chewing on pieces of wheat, and abusive. He hated them. The only member of his family he had any respect for had been his grandfather, but he died when Eli was just a kid.

Elijah, Eli's grandfather, whom he was named after, was training to become a mage. He had minor mastery over arcane powers, and unfortunately he pushed his limited understanding too far one day. A spell he was attempting to cast had backfired, instantly killing Elijah. This tragedy occurred during a patrol prior to Rhonin's arrival to the town. Elijah had attempted to summon a wall of flame to stop whatever attacked his group, but the spell instead engulfed him. Eli always wanted to train as a mage, to pay respect to his grandfather, but Elijah had been the only student of the arcane arts in Helios. Eli never had anyone or anything to learn from, except for a few notes and journals that his grandfather had left behind. Elijah's limited understanding was evident when reading the papers, most of the notes were nonsense and the number of errors in them was outstanding.

No one to learn from that is, until two years ago when a mysterious woman named Jhoira had moved to the town and built herself a mage tower. The people of Helios did not know what caused this tattoo covered woman to move to their little town. At first, there was a lot of distrust but she took it upon herself to head to Trail's End, the city closest to Helios in order to deal with the trading of goods. She always brought new wonders back to the citizens, so they had accepted her. It didn't' hurt that Jhoira's well-placed thunderbolts and other wizardly powers kept monsters at bay.

Most of them had accepted her, but not all.

The Stoneroots, with the exception of Eli, hated the woman. She brought foreign, unreliable powers to this town, and they were certain she was running from something, or someone. They didn't trust her, and wanted no contact with her. Eli, however, for the past couple months had been training with Jhoira in the mysteries of the arcane. He thought he was secretive enough, but someone had tipped off his family. And they were not happy about it.

"Give him a reminder of who he is!" One of Eli's brothers shouted. In the scuffle, he wasn't sure which. However, his father nodded, and let go of his son. Eli thought this was his chance, and once again tried to get away, but it was of no use. His brothers all were muscular from their work on the farm and Eli would never be able to out power them. Eli turned his head in time to see his father grab the branding rod and hold it up to the fire. He turned to Eli, and grimaced.

"You need to learn what it means to be a Stoneroot."

"Hey, more ale over here Cara!" A drunkard at Rhonin's tavern, aptly named "Rhonin's" yelled.

The barmaid in question was a stunning young woman. She had the thick reddish brown hair of her human father couple with the delicate bones and violet eyes of her eladrin mother. Her skin was fair and her complexion was always perfect. Cara had recently turned twenty-three and had finally lost all of the awkwardness of adolescence and truly grown into the body of a woman.

Cara Sypher sighed slightly before turning around with a grin on her face. "Right away, sir." Just think of the coins, Cara thought to herself. Every copper piece you make here is a step closer to being able to leave this hell hole.

It was midafternoon; the majority of the town was still working or getting ready for their evening. The tavern was bare, but Cara knew that as the night progressed it would be full of townsfolk looking to forget their troubles or at least share them with someone else. Cara also knew that one of the Stoneroot boys was working as the hired muscle for the night, which meant plenty of tips for her, since _he_ wouldn't be working again.

Rhonin had decided he needed a bouncer after a couple of drunken fights had gotten a little too out of hand. After replacing his front door for the fourth time, Rhonin decided some help was in order. The bouncers rarely had to intercede but Cara was usually grateful when they did. She smiled when she thought about how Tobias, who worked the busiest nights, brought a staff with him to break up the fights, since he caused less damage with the weapon than he did with his bare hands. Tobias learned this the hard way, after he threw a drunken instigator through the front door, causing Rhonin to replace it for his fifth time.

Cara poured the drink and started to head over to her table, smoothing the wrinkles out of her apron with her free hand. Cara set the drink in front of the man, whose name she had purposefully forgotten, and as she turned to go back towards the kitchen, the man slapped her ass and laughed. She bit her lip, thinking of the coins, and let her mind drift away from this place. She began to think of her mother, mere thoughts of her always cheered Cara up.

Cara's mother died when she was just a child. Cara and Tobias were both being watched by Lyra the Wild, an elderly elf who kept watch over the many diverse children of Helios while their parents saw to their professions. Lyra took this time to care for the children and also educate them in the basics of language and numbers. She served as one part nanny, one part teacher. Cara's memory of her mother was very hazy, but just thinking of her mother caused a warm glow to fill her spirit. She felt more at peace just by thinking of her beauty, strength, and kindness.

After the drunken man left, and Cara was wiping down a table, she noticed Rhonin coming out of the kitchen and getting ready to leave. The dwarf had his full set of armor on, Moradin's holy symbol around his neck and his golden two-handed warhammer strapped to his back, despite the fact that he had no plans to leave town. Cara often teased the dwarf about it, but Rhonin only responded by saying that he'd rather have it and not need it than the other way around.

"That Stoneroot boy sent me a message, said he was sick or some garbage," Rhonin grumbled. "Good fer nothing Stoneroots… goin' to go get Toby to fill in." Without waiting for a response from the half-elf, Rhonin was gone.

"Great." Cara mumbled to herself while she cleaned up. "There's goes my chances of making anything tonight."

"I thought you and Toby were friends?" Rebecca Henderson said from the counter. With a wink she added, "Maybe even more than friends, if you can believe the town gossip."

"Oh, just you wait." Cara said, choosing to ignore the second part of her comment. She had fought against that rumor more times than she needed to; she had arrived at the point where it was easier to just let it be. Besides, if one protests too much it almost makes the gossip true. "I guarantee he'll be here no more than five minutes before scaring away most of my clientele."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
As Twilight Falls

Tobias sprawled out across his bed, staring at the ceiling with his legs dangling over the edge. He turned once, and smelled the lavender used to wash the comforter. The homespun blanket was compellingly scratchy and comforting. Toby knew that he was lucky to have his own bedroom at his grandfather's home; despite the fact that the house was small, Argus and Tobias were the only two residents, so it was just the right size. Most other people in Helios shared their room with at least one sibling. "Although, it would be nice to have someone to talk to," Tobias mused to the empty room.

Toby was holding the necklace that he had nearly lost earlier that day, fingers tracing each of the beads. The necklace was his prized possession, he never went anywhere without it. The beads were carved from the ivory of caribou and scrimshaw of knucklehead trout. Each bead was a study in natural beauty. He was so conditioned to the weight that he always knew if he forgot it. It would be like dropping his hand and leaving it on the road. Just holding it kept his mind clear and calm. The necklace was a keepsake of his mother and it was one of the only things that he still had to remember her by.

He rolled over and let out a sigh, squeezing his eyes shut and letting a single tear run out of them. He had been without his parents for nearly a decade now, he loved his grandfather and he knew it was time to put the hurt behind and move on; and he put on a good show. His boyish charm and happy-go-lucky attitude was how he truly felt, it was not an act. When he was in his private room though, he let out his repressed feelings.

Tobias would have been sharing his bedroom with his brother, Jacob, had he not left town after their parents died. Tobias was only a boy of five when his parents passed and his brother left. His brother was nearly twenty years of age when he ran away, swearing that this town didn't offer the life for him. Jacob had been sullen and abrasive even before the loss of their parents. He had darker features than Tobias' tawny skin and dirty blonde hair. Jacob told anyone who would listen that he deserved better than this little flyspeck of a town. He refused to work the forge, like his father and grandfather had before him. Jacob was nearly the exact opposite of Tobias in every way and most of the townsfolk have adjusted to ignoring his existence and treating Toby like an only child.

When Toby heard a heavy knock on his front door, sounding as if someone had taken a small battering ram to the door, followed by it swinging open without delay, he wiped his tears away, took a deep breath and walked out to see who was in their house. Although, he could only think of one person who wouldn't wait to be invited in; the person he thought of was short, although not many would say that to his face and live to tell the tale.

Rounding the corner, his suspicion was confirmed. Standing in the doorway, chatting with Argus, was Rhonin Silverhammer. His red beard was proudly braided and tucked into his belt, resting one hand on his maul, the huge hammer acting as both a weapon and a walking stick. His free hand was grasping Argus' arm in greeting.

"Ah, Toby. How are ye lad?" Rhonin asked, grinning when he saw the boy. "Said yer prayers to Moradin today?"

"After my morningfast, like you and grandfather both taught me, Rhonin." Tobias responded happily. His grandfather, being a blacksmith, was the only worshiper of the forgetender in Helios, prior to Rhonin coming to town. As such, Tobias found the dwarven god around him constantly while he was growing up and the decision to worship him wasn't even a choice as far as he was concerned. He was naturally drawn to Moradin. Rhonin loved to tease Tobias, saying the boy was daft for worshiping a dwarven god and that the dwarffather wouldn't respect a mere human, especially one without a beard. Tobias' teasing comment back was always the same; at least he was taller than both Rhonin and Moradin.

"So, what brings you to our humble home today, Rhonin?" Argus asked as he eased himself down into a nearby chair, wincing slightly as his joints ached. The old man was still hale, but as fall turned to winter quickly in the north, his aches and pains grew.

"Business, unfortunately. Ye mind comin' to work today Toby? That Stoneroot boy claims to be sick, not that I believe him, never works if he can help it." Rhonin shook his head and blew out a exasperated puff of air. The dwarf hated work shirkers.

At the mention of the name Stoneroot, Tobias' jaw clenched. Argus sighed, it was a battle that he had fought plenty of times before and didn't suspect would stop any time soon. The old man clenched his feet and his knees bunched beneath him, ready to lift him once more if the need arose.

"You have to let it go, Toby. The mistake of one Stoneroot shouldn't cause you to cast judgment on all of them. And besides, it wasn't Elijah's fault that your parents were killed."

"He could have stopped them!" Tobias screamed in anger. "He could have saved them and he didn't!"

In a flash, despite his age and pains, Argus was up, embracing Tobias. Tobias choked back a sob. "I… I'm trying grandfather. I really am."

"I know Toby. I know." He said, and let it be, simply holding him. The elder Vulcos rocked back and forth, shushing softly.

After a few moments, Rhonin awkwardly cleared his throat. "So, um, work? Will ye do it?" His face at the moment matched his beard, flushed red with embarrassment.

Tobias smiled. "Have I ever said no to you Rhonin?" It was a smile filled with both grief and hope, the most charming one Tobias could give.

"Once that I can remember!" Rhonin yelled. "When I said ye should grow yerself a nice dwarven beard!" He winked, showing Toby it was all in fun before departing from their house, grinning while he thought of all the times that he had helped to raise Tobias. Argus was full of piss and vinegar, but he couldn't do it alone while running the smith. He turned out to be a great man, the dwarf thought. Too bad the fool didn't go to battle with a hammer and shield like any sensible fighter would.

As Tobias was getting ready to head to Rhonin's, he ran back into his room to grab the other keepsake that he had of his mother. It was a shirt that Ilyana Vulcos, Helios' seamstress, had made him when Tobias was just a youngster. It was a white button up shirt that obviously no longer fit him. He wore it as a shrug nowadays, the shirt tails barely touching the bottom of his ribs while the sleeves ended well below his elbows. He never wore it when he headed to his grandfather's shop, he would never be able to get it clean again, but other than that he tried to never leave home without it.

The fresh snow muffled the sound of Grobrunk's footsteps as he followed the odd trail that he had found. His delivery to Rhonin's had been delayed. As he left the shop, he saw some animal tracks right by the outskirts of town, leading deeper into the think fir and pine boughs of the Rawlinswood. The tracks stopped just on a rise where the animal could see the whole town, as if it just came to observe or graze before leaving, although there was no trace of an animal feeding. It wasn't like any animal he knew, based off the prints. His first thought was they were wolf tracks, but closer inspection showed them to look almost like a mix of wolf, bear, and cat. Grobrunk was nearly certain that no one had ever trained a wolf to run on its hind legs like this creature appeared to be doing, still once and a while Grobrunk saw what had to have been the tracks of its front paws, wicked claws digging into the snow. The tracks hinted that the beast was heavy and slouched.

To further perplex him, he had a suspicion that whatever he was tracking had some form of intelligence as well, as after a short period of time, the tracks started to double back, attempting to lose Grobrunk. It made the half-orc slightly nervous, wondering what he was going after, but his curiosity beat out his nerves. He grabbed at the throwing hatchet attached to his back, feeling the familiar weight comforted the taciturn warrior a bit.

There was a short period of time where Grobrunk thought the animal had lost him, making him double back and have to search out the tracks again. This took longer than Grobrunk had hoped, and he grunted to himself, certain that the beast would have escaped him by now. Grobrunk had hunted these woods scores of times and never felt any tingle of fear. This encounter was subtlety different, he thought. This creature might have turned the tables on who was predator and who was prey. His adrenaline began to pump while his eyes scanned the forest's edge. He cursed lightly as the creeping dusk brought darkness to the already concealing tree line. His half-orc blood allowed him to see in conditions that no human would be comfortable with, but he preferred hunting in the day. Night gave his quarry and an unfair advantage as far as Grobrunk was concerened.

Once he found the tracks again, he bent down to investigate the trail, when he heard a low coughing sound from behind him. His eyes widened, this animal tricked him! It led him into an ambush.

He quickly turned, trying to brace himself from whatever was coming, and he cursed himself for not bringing his axe and shield into the woods with him. His plan was to head to Rhonin's, he did not believe he would need it. He distinctly remembered Rhonin saying something about making sure he was prepared, but it was too late now. He glanced at the tiny woodsman axe and thought it was laughable in facing this creature. In a flash, the creature was upon him, the hatchet skittering off to the side. Grobrunk grunted, no longer afraid. Half-orc's never fled from a challenge, it was a blessing from their mixed heritages. The brutal honor of orcs mixed with the stubbornness of human kind to make an exceptional warrior.

Grobrunk only got to see the entirety of the creature for a split second before it pounced on him. It was just as he had suspected from the tracks, the beast looked like a wolf, a bear, and some great cat mixed as one. It was no natural beast, but Grobrunk knew nothing about what this creature actually was, it was if all the predators of the area had sired some monstrous abomination. It was on him in a flash, pushing him down and began to bite at his throat. He reached up and grabbed the side of the creature's snout, straining to hold its grasping maw away from his neck.

As Grobrunk lay on his back looking at the creature, he felt fear rising once more, sensing something sentient within the creature's gaze. It knew what it was doing, it knew Grobrunk had seen it, and it needed to eliminate this threat. Grobrunk strained all his considerable muscle against this monster, but it was of no use. He was going to die here.

Suddenly, there's was a loud clash of noise which caused a ringing to occur in Grobrunk's ears. The creature flew from him, yelping, it fled back into the shielding woods quickly.

Grobrunk turned on his side and was greeted by a familiar but not welcoming figure; Jhoira, her red cloak flowing gently with the breeze, covered in her abnormal arcane tattoos, although some of them seemed to be glowing with power at this moment. The bald wizard was standing in the clearing, pointing a staff in the direction that the beast disappeared. Her bronze staff was shaped like a great serpent, with four white stars burned into the ophidian head. Grobrunk saw that he could see actual venom dripping from the objects metallic fangs. Jhoira and serpent alike glared off at the creature, muttering some curse under her breath. Her left hand was twisted in some arcane pattern, tattooed palm smoking from whatever spell she invoked.

"Uh… thanks." Grobrunk muttered, embarrassed that the creature had caught him unaware. He stood up, hesitantly. As far as he could remember, he had never exchanged a single word with Jhoira in the past two years. The magewoman had always intimidated him. "What was that thing?" he asked quietly.

"I do not know." Jhoira said, obviously upset that she wasn't sure. She had never seen such a creature, nor read about it in any tome. "I will have to do some research back in my tower." She glanced at Grobrunk to make sure he wasn't in any deadly peril, and then turned to head back to her town.

"Why were you out here?" Grobrunk summoned the nerve to ask. Jhoira turned once more to face the half-orc. Her grey eyes gleamed in the twilight. She opened her mouth, then paused, not sure what to say.

While Jhoira hesitated, she thought; she didn't believe it would be wise to tell the truth; that she had been conferring with a devil that she had summoned into her tower. The Logokron a unique specie of devil and warned her to come to this clearing on this night. The devil also spoke of many other interesting facts, under certain magical persuasions of course; it had told her about some powerful omens that were building in Helios, and the name of residents both familiar and unknown to her that would be instrumental to stopping it. She didn't know why this half-orc was instrumental to anything besides butchering, but she knew how to summon an abyssal messenger and make it truthful.

Perhaps a charm to make him forget she had saved him, she mused. No, that may put the threads of fate in a knot.

She spun on her left foot, red cloak spreading out behind her like wings, ultimately deciding to simply say, "None of your business," and headed back to town leaving behind a confused Grobrunk.

Eli slid down in the booth he was sitting at alone in Rhonin's. The business was starting to pick up after he had entered the tavern. While the young farmer turned mage sat and waited for someone to take his order. Cara, surprise, made sure she got to Eli last. Eli and Tobias had a bit of a rivalry going and Cara, being Tobias best friend, was always on Toby's side. Even though Cara had sided with his foe, Eli still thought she was the prettiest girl in Helios.

"What can I get you?" she finally asked as she made her way to him. Her hair was pushed out of her eyes, tucked behind her half-elven ears. Her violet eyes sparkled, causing Eli to swoon slightly. He felt compelled to give Cara a sizable tip up front, but he fought off the urge.

Eli rubbed his forearm nervously; making sure his sleeve was rolled down enough to cover the branding that his family imparted on him. "I'll take some milk please, Cara."

"Crazy night, huh Eli?" She said as she left Eli alone with his thoughts. Eli turned to look out the window, but with the night growing ever darker he was only rewarded with his own reflection. Eli saw his expressive blue eyes and tousled black hair looking back at him. His face was much more heart shaped than the usual Stoneroot blockhead the rest of his family had. He was always teased by his brothers, they called him their only sister. He was so different from them, and they had tried branding him to remind Eli who he belonged to.

"Why was life so hard?" The distraught mage in training whispered to himself.

However, once Tobias walked in, Eli's thoughts drifted to how to avoid being noticed by the bouncer. If only I was a great wizard and could just turn Toby into a frog, he thought.

Right as Tobias walked in, Soren Mules, another drunken man, blew a kiss in Cara's direction. Cara, having noticed Toby walk in, tried to stop the man, to no avail. Tobias, ever perceptive when Car was involved, saw what happened, and leapt over a table to get to the man.

In a flash, Tobias had Soren face planted in the mashed potatoes in front of him, one hand on the back of Soren's head and the other hand holding the man's wrist. "I think we can agree that the lady deserves more respect than that, don't we?"

"But–" Soren tried to argue, which only caused Tobias to twist the man's thumb cruelly, leaving him screaming in pain.

"Don't we?" Tobias agreed.

"Yes, yes! I'm sorry Cara!" Tobias stared at Soren for a couple seconds before releasing his hand. Soren jumped to his feet, chucked a couple of copper on the table and ran out the door. Cara looked down and sighed, the copper barely covered for the man's tab, let alone a tip for her.

Tobias turned his attention to Cara with a grin. "How are you doing?" He asked, proud of himself like a puppy who thought they had done well. He had saved his best friend, yet again, if he had a tail it would be wagging.

Cara responded with a slap to his face. "This is the problem Tobias! This is why everyone assumes we are a couple! Soren did nothing, NOTHING, wrong! What gives you the right to dictate how people treat me here!"

"Cara, he,"

Cara's eyes went from sparkling to flaring with anger. Her voice rose to impressive volumns, all could hear and feel her frustrations. "No, Toby. No excuses. I'm a big girl, you're not here to be my babysitter!" She stormed away before he had a chance to respond, leaving him looking dumbfounded in front of the customers of Rhonin's. Eli chuckled from his seat, not even caring that his milk never made it to him. He loved seeing that Tobias jerk put in his place. Maybe he could ask Jhoira for a spell that would make Toby feel this badly all the time.


End file.
